Urban Transport

Rollkers put a motorized moving sidewalk under your feet

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Rollkers should sell for around $700 a pair
Rollkers
Rollkers are claimed to be compatible with most footwear, as long as it doesn't have high heels or isn't overly bulky
Rollkers
Rollkers should sell for around $700 a pair
Rollkers
Rollkers reportedly weigh about 4.5 kg (10 lb) each, and should be good for about 30 minutes of use per charge of their lithium-ion batteries
Rollkers
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Admit it – when you walk on one of those "moving sidewalks" at an airport, you like to pretend that you're easily able to stroll at superhuman speeds. Well, Rollkers are designed to give you that same sensation, as you walk down city streets.

A new version of an older invention, the Rollkers were created by a French startup of the same name. They take the form of roller-skate-like devices that get strapped onto the user's existing shoes.

Instead of simply having wheels on the bottom, however, they have motorized rollers covered in conveyor-belt-like rubber tracks. Because the Rollkers bend in the middle to facilitate normal walking, each one has two tracks – one in the front, and one in the back.

Rollkers are claimed to be compatible with most footwear, as long as it doesn't have high heels or isn't overly bulky
Rollkers

Onboard sensors and other electronics detect the wearer's current walking speed, and respond by activating the motors in order to double that speed … up to a limit of 7 mph (11 km/h). This means that they only "roll" as the user is walking. If the user is just standing still, the Rollkers won't carry them forward.

Additionally, because the sensors can determine where within the stride each Rollker is at all times, the output of the motors is adjusted accordingly, to maintain user stability. They reportedly weigh about 4.5 kg (10 lb) per pair, and should be good for about 30 minutes of use per charge of their lithium-ion batteries.

A representative tells us that the company is currently hoping to license the technology to a third-party manufacturer, which would actually take the Rollkers into production. The estimated retail price is approximately US$700.

You can see some of the Rollkers prototypes in action, in the video below. Potential buyers might also want to check out the successfully Kickstarted Moonwalkers, which offer similar functionality.

Source: Rollkers

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7 comments
zort
I'd like to see a 'skate mode' get added for those times when you wanted to glide more (like a skater) than take lots of steps.
guzmanchinky
I do love walking on moving sidewalks. Always just a little disappointed when they end.
JeJe
Watched the vid looking for them in action - lots of sitting, standing still, moving shots from the waist up- everything but. So, what's that all about? Plus a 2kg weight on the end of each foot sounds a real drag. Moonwalkers look interesting - at least they show them working...
Marco McClean
I like the idea of the five-pound shoes. Add four-pound sleeves, a twelve-pound belt, a seventeen-pound flat shoulder pack and a three-pound hat and you're fairly fifty pounds heavier and balanced. Walk around like that for a week and then take the weights off you'd feel like Superman for a little while. I have an idea: regular rollerskates with semi-soft wheels that brake and/or lock with a gesture, to get on the bus or go into the doughnut store, that you power entirely by a gentle skating motion. Safety, better speed, better health, more fun. Another idea, this one for the rolling shoes in the article: you could put sanding belts on them and drive belts in the same shoe in opposite directions, to walk around on a wooden floor and sand it at the same time. Or use buffer belts to polish a shiny floor.
Nelson Hyde Chick
Another way to get out of walking, isn't Americans obese enough?
Trylon
@Nelson Hyde Chick, relax. Read the article. "This means that they only 'roll' as the user is walking. If the user is just standing still, the Rollkers won't carry them forward." It doesn't free you from walking. I like to walk, putting in 12-20,000 steps per day, but I wouldn't mind getting a bit more speed on high-mileage days without having to resort to a relatively bulky bicycle.
Jon Zax
Yeah, but $700 ?